Prime Suspect (1991; UK; Colour; 207m) ∗∗∗∗∗ pr. Don Leaver; d. Christopher Menaul; w. Lynda La Plante; ph. Ken Morgan; m. Stephen Warbeck. Cast: Helen Mirren, Tom Bell, John Benfield, John Bowe, Zoë Wanamaker, Gary Whelan, Craig Fairbrass, Jack Ellis, John Forgeham, Mossie Smith, Ian Fitzgibbon, Andrew Tiernan, Philip Wright, Richard Hawley, Mark Spalding. Jane Tennison (Mirren) is a Detective Chief Inspector assigned to Southampton Row police station in Central London. She is repeatedly passed over for major cases but, following the death of a Senior Investigating Officer she is given the opportunity to take over his investigation which involves the brutal murder of a young girl. The girl’s body has been badly mutilated, and her hands have been tied behind her back. Forensic evidence puts a suspect in the frame. Thoroughly absorbing modern TV classic of the crime genre. This unsettling battle of wits between key suspect (Bowe), who denies all charges, and Mirren’s determined cop makes for riveting watching. The story is brilliantly directed and the script is exceptional, making this an undisputed classic. [15]